Researchers believe huge underwater volcanic eruptions were part of last extinction period

Researchers believe huge underwater volcanic eruptions were part of last extinction period

September 10, 2012 – GEOLOGY – Popular opinion holds that an asteroid struck the Earth 65 million years ago, hustling out the Age of Dinosaurs and allowing the mammals – us – to rise. But new research now paints another picture – with the University of Washington indicating that a separate extinction came shortly first, triggered by volcanic eruptions that warmed the planet and killed life on the ocean floor.